I finally understand the importance of the baggage claim ticket

I have flown many times in my life. Thank God I have never had a problem with my luggage. You always hear stories - or even see for yourself - someone's luggage broke and their stuff is all over the baggage claim carousel. I know someone who was landing in israel for her shana aleph and everyone in the airport knows what she brought. But I have been a very lucky traveler and I have never had any problems.
One thing I never understood was the reason - or the meaning - behind the baggage claim ticket. Apparently, your suitcase is stickered with a sticker with a number on it. You also get a sticker with that same number. When you go claim your bags, you are supposed to match up your sticker with the one on your bag. That's how you know it is in fact your bag. Of course, none of this matters b/c we all know which is our bag just by looking at it. And eventho everyone has the "same black suitcase", no one's is really so identical to anyone else's that you can't tell them all apart. So what's the point of having the baggage claim ticket? I never understood that. Until this past Sunday when I flew from NY to Italy and then, 2 hours later, from Italy to Israel where I landed on Monday, but my suitcase did not follow me there. So now I'm on my "vacation"in Jerusalem, a place that is oddly colder than NY, where it never snows and of course is supposed to snow tomorrow!, and I do not have my warm boots, or my warm sweaters, or any shabbat clothes, or anything else I managed to stuff in my suitcase. I'm very sad and depressed and ANGRY!!! and there's nothing I can do besides just wait and maybe yell at the airline ppl - altho yelling doesn't make them find my missing bag any faster. So I learned the meaning of the baggage claim ticket is that when the airline loses your luggage, the baggage claim ticket is really for them to be able to identify your bag/s. It's not for you at all, beyond being able to tell them what number is on the sticker attached to your bag. And if they never find your bag ever, you definitely don't need your baggage claim sticker....unless you have nothing else to wear. The, you should definitely save it.